Christianity was born in Bethlehem, in what's now the West Bank. It took root among people like the Assyrians, who flourished in ancient Mesopotamia. It soon found a home in places like modern-day Turkey.

An ISIS court in northern Syria has ordered the release of 29 Assyrian Christian hostages among more than 200 captured by the Sunni extremist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday, citing an Assyrian commander.